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A wet October has caused the cancellation of the swamp buggy races scheduled at Florida Sports Park in East Naples this weekend. But another tradition will start back up.

Even though there will be no racing, the Swamp Buggy Parade will take place on U.S. 41 in Naples starting at 10 a.m. Saturday. Started in 1949 during the first Swamp Buggy Days festival, organizers call the parade the longest running annual event in town. There wasn't a parade last year because paperwork wasn't filed in time.

As for the races, the Florida Sports Park grounds haven’t dried out from the rains brought on three weeks ago by Hurricane Matthew, which hit the state’s east coast. The park already had standing water from the summer rainy season.

“Not all the areas are safe,” Florida Sports Park office manager Maria Rodriguez said. “We have to make sure the lot is dry where cars park and all the water under the grandstand would need to be gone.”

In 2013, the Fall Classic was postponed because of construction near the park grounds. The event was rescheduled then ultimately canceled when construction took longer than expected. It was the first and only time the fall races were canceled, until this year.

Rodriguez said the races will not be made up because once the grounds are dry enough for racing, there are other events taking place at Florida Sports Park.

Earlier this year the Winter Classic (part of the 2015-16 racing season) was postponed due to flooding. The race took place in March, pushing the spring races back to April.

The next swamp buggy races will be Jan. 28-29, followed by racing on March 25. A season champion is crowned each year based on the cumulative points from the three events – fall, winter and spring. This year the standings will rely only on points from the winter and spring races.

The Swamp Buggy Parade returns after it was canceled last year. It was believed to be the second time in the parade’s 67-year history that it did not take place. This year’s theme is “Support Law Enforcement” and will feature many Collier County first-responders.

“It’s too important a theme and a tradition for (the parade) not to happen,” Rodriguez said. “We have a diverse group of participants from the community and local government. We’re proud to honor them.”

The parade is the only one in Naples that goes down U.S. 41, the main north-south thoroughfare in town. The route goes from Golden Gate Parkway, at Coastland Center Mall, south to Third Avenue South. Because of the event, U.S. 41 north and south will be closed to traffic from approximately 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.